


Stupid, Or in Love?

by InsightfulInsomniac



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Humor, M/M, Shakespeare, They're both jerks to each other, debate, romeo and juliet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 21:19:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11067342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsightfulInsomniac/pseuds/InsightfulInsomniac
Summary: Web and Lieb have a heated debate in their college English class about Romeo and Juliet. The result is not at all what David expected.





	Stupid, Or in Love?

**Author's Note:**

> My inspiration for this fic was from two OTP prompts: one about dueling members of a Shakespeare club falling in love, the other from the whole "fuck you"/"fight me" situation. You'll see.

Out of of all things David Webster thought he'd be fighting with Joe Liebgott over, he never considered the correct interpretation of _Romeo and Juliet_ to be one of them.

But here they are, in their college English class during the Shakespeare unit, and David, the _literature major_ , most definitely knows better than Joe, the art major taking this course merely for the credit.

"Romeo and Juliet were just fucking stupid!" Liebgott yells, throwing his hands up in the air. "They barely knew each other and then they die for each other? Juliet didn't even think to warn Romeo of her plan!"

About half of the class murmurs in agreement, the other half obviously disagreeing with his statement. Still, no one else speaks up, letting arch-nemeses Webster and Liebgott battle it out. They've each got supporters, and they've both got fiery passion about their opinions.

"No! Shakespeare intended for the play to be a tragedy, and thus made it tragic. They had to die to prove that love conquers hatred, even if the sacrifice is death!" David spits back, pushing up the sleeves of his shirt. Joe laughs maliciously, muttering "Oh, no," under his breath.

"The only thing tragic about this is that it proves youth are stupid and lust is dangerous."

David scoffs. "That's rich, coming from you."

Liebgott crosses his arms, practically inviting him to continue. "What d'ya mean by that?"

"We have mutual friends; I know what you're like. Shallow lust is apparently very familiar to you," he snarks, looking very pleased with himself for the low blow.

"Webster, stick to debating the play, not your personal lives," their professor, who had been barely moderating the debate, chides. "Continue."

David recovers quickly from being knocked down a peg by his professor, turning the fire back on in his eyes. "I digress. Anything to say, Joe?"

Something akin to a growl slips from between Joe's lips. "You wouldn't know what love is even if it punched you in the face, Webster. Romeo and Juliet were stupid, not in love."

The urge to have the last word thrums throughout David's body, and both "Fuck you" and "Fight me" come to the forefront of his mind.

"Fuck me," he seethes, his eyes growing wide as he realizes the unfortunate mess his rage-filled brain made of the words.

Liebgott looks similarly stunned, but quickly regains his cocky composure with a predatory smirk. "Well, maybe if you ask nicely."

Webster's jaw drops open, and he sputters for words. "I-I-uh—"

"It's okay, this might be new to you. It's called _shallow lust_ ," Joe emphasizes the last two words with a malicious grin, the energy of the room having changed from fiery to _electric_.

"I meant to say 'fuck you' or 'fight me,'" David amends weakly, and Joe just laughs, winking at him evilly as their professor decides to put an end to the debate.

About twenty minutes later, just a couple minutes before the end of class, Liebgott grabs Webster's personal copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ from next to him.

"Hey! What're you—" David watches in horror as Joe writes something _in pen_ on the inside of the front cover of his book.

"If you know me so well, you should know where my dorm is," Liebgott remarks casually, handing his book back to him. Before Web can chastise him for writing in his book, he notices what's scrawled in blue ink.

_If you want me to take you up on your offer, meet me tonight at 11 pm._

Followed by his phone number, the message practically burns itself into David's retinas. He considers whiting out the message or even buying a new book, but instead, against his better judgement, takes out his phone to text Joe.

_David: If this is all shallow lust, I'm not coming over._

It's not even thirty seconds before he replies.

_Joe: If it was, I wouldn't be inviting you._

Later that night, wrapped up in the covers of Joe's standard-issue twin bed, smiling blissfully over at the man who he had looked to destroy just hours before, David thinks to himself,

_Am I stupid, or in love?_

**Author's Note:**

> I love college AUs, to say the least.


End file.
